Abstract:
BACKGROUND : Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a major global healthcare burden,
disproportionately affecting women. Self-sampling interventions for diagnostic purposes have the
potential to improve STI healthcare management and expand STI services. However, there is currently
no published evidence of the global use of self-sampling interventions to diagnose STIs in women.
The main aim of this scoping review was to map evidence on the use of self-sampling interventions
to diagnose STIs in women. METHODOLOGY : The methodology of this scoping review was guided
by Arksey and O’Malley and Levac. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed,
Scopus, Web of Science, Medline (EBSCO), ProQuest, and Cochrane. For grey literature, a search
was conducted in Open Grey, World Health Organization, Google, and conference proceedings
and dissertations. All search results were screened and assessed for eligibility. Thereafter data
from eligible studies was extracted and analysed. The quality of these studies was appraised using
the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool 2018 version. RESULTS : A total of 770 articles were retrieved
from databases and grey literature sources. A total of 44 studies were eligible for data extraction
following title, abstract and full-text screening. Of the included studies, 63% presented evidence of
research conducted in high-income countries and 37% presented evidence in low- and middle-income
countries. Studies presented evidence on the following: feasibility of self-sampling in remote areas;
acceptance and ease of use of self-sampling interventions; types of self-sampled specimens; pooled
samples for diagnosing STIs; laboratory diagnostic assays for STI using self-sampled specimens; and
self-testing of self-sampled specimens. CONCLUSIONS : Self-sampling interventions are feasible and
easy to use and, therefore, can improve STI management and treatment in women across various
age groups and various access levels to good-quality healthcare. Despite this, there is a lack of
evidence of self-sampling interventions designed according to user preferences. We recommend
studies to collaborate with women to co-develop user-friendly self-sampling interventions to diagnose
STIs in women.
